Baltimore City seeking to regulate Airbnb

I'm guessing some MD/Baltimore investors saw the Baltimore Sun piece about the City Council seeking to regulate Airbnb rentals for investors. Note that this would in theory not directly affect house hackers, but they would seek to impose a hotel tax on everyone. They list 1,200 Baltimore Airbnb hosts, and the City Council president, Jack Young, dismissively says something like "oh they're earning enough money." The article also quotes a Baltimore investor, Michael Sung, who lives in Seattle. He is quoted as having 75 investors who plan to lobby the City Council. I reached out to him and got this website link, where you can sign up if you are a Baltimore Airbnb host, if you're interested in being part of any effort to push back on the City Council:

I'm a landlord in the city, and I also own a home in the city that I live in and periodically rent out the basement on Airbnb. I've been an Airbnb host and guest in multiple cities, and while I think some reasonable regulation is good, I don't think slapping a hotel tax on everyone is the right solution, and if you follow the money, it goes straight to the hotel industry.

I've been advising my clients to be cautious and to have a backup strategy when they are buying homes with the goal of turning them into short term rentals. Its inevitable that the City Council, and eventually the General Assembly, will regulate this market.

I've been advising my clients to be cautious and to have a backup strategy when they are buying homes with the goal of turning them into short term rentals. Its inevitable that the City Council, and eventually the General Assembly, will regulate this market.

Seems like they have to regulate everything! Do you think it will only be Baltimore city? Or will Balt County end up with the same regs too?

Yeah @Joe Norman - I think that's right. The economics should still work as a regular rental. However, I also think that there is a chance right now for interested landlords to have a say and let the City Council know that they aren't representing us well.